


The Ranch

by onlyapapermoon



Series: Courser [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Animal Play, Bondage, Branding, Captivity, Dehumanization, Horses, M/M, Muteness, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Outdoor Sex, Pony Play, Whipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-09 08:32:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3243101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyapapermoon/pseuds/onlyapapermoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate/bad ending to And to All a Good Night - what if Cody's friend had been available to take Kurt, after all? (Please read the warnings!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Cody paid no attention to the grumbling of other passengers as he slipped through the crowd departing the plane. The buzz of excitement under his skin had been growing since he boarded at JFK, and it was reaching its height now that he was finally in Lincoln. He strode through the airport with purpose, practically ran down the escalator, and was rewarded with the sight of his friend Max waiting in the crowds milling around the baggage claim.  
  
Max, an older gentleman that Cody had made acquaintance of while running a scam out west years ago, noticed Cody coming and waved cheerfully. Cody laughed and reached out to exchange a friendly embrace with him. “How was the flight?” Max asked, and they exchanged the usual pleasantries while waiting for Cody’s suitcase.  
  
From there, Max ushered Cody out to his waiting car and loaded in his bag. The hours-long drive to Max’s ranch was filled with pleasant inconsequential conversation – Cody inquired after the success of the ranch and Max’s correspondence with his company in LA, and Max asked how Cody was enjoying his newfound wealth.  
  
It was still light with the midsummer’s evening sun once they’d gotten to the ranch and settled Cody into one of the guest rooms, so Max proposed a tour of the place and Cody gladly accepted. Max was an aficionado of horses, and Cody listened with good humor to his friend extolling the virtues of each of the six horses kept on the ranch permanently, and to the sighs and complaints over the demeanor of the horses he boarded for others.  
  
And then it was time for the part Cody was most looking forward to.  
  
Cody had been doing well for himself since the New Year, which had started with a very profitable sale of goods and electronics in Canada. He’d been traveling for the first few months of the year, partly to enjoy himself in luxury and partly to stay under the radar of law enforcement, and had then settled back down in New York City, refurnishing his apartment in what he considered tasteful decadence. This trip to Nebraska was the first time he’d left the city since his return, but he’d been looking forward to it since he’d finalized the deal with Max just after Christmas.

The walk to the smaller private stable was a short one, but it was still long enough for the anticipation to build until Cody was almost unable to stand it. He hid it well, although Max still gave him a knowing look just before unlatching the door and pushing it open.  
  
Inside, the air was warm and smelled mostly of hay. When Cody glanced up, he noticed the vents on the walls – presumably heating vents – and murmured, “Fancy place,” to Max.  
  
Max just chuckled in response and said, “Well, I’d hate to lose my investment after the first good frost. Especially since it’s been turning out so well.”  
  
Most of the stalls were empty or filled with the detritus of ranch work, but as they neared the end of the row, they came to the stall holding their goal.  
  
Cody’s former pet looked much the same at first glance as he had when Cody had reluctantly traded him to Max for a good bundle of cash. Even in the artificial light of the stable, though, it was immediately obvious that his legs and chest had picked up some muscle, and his skin was tanner than it had been, with a redness over his cheeks, nose, and shoulders that spoke of much time in the sun.  
  
“And here’s my pony,” Max announced unnecessarily, causing his pet to turn his head from where he’d been facing the wall. The pony’s eyes seemed almost vacant until they landed on Cody and widened. “It looks like he remembers you,” Max laughed.  
  
Some complicated straps of leather were hanging on a hook outside the stall, and Max grabbed them as he gestured to Cody to open the stall door. It was a simple heavy latch on the outside of the door, but Cody could see how the pony, with its arms secured behind it much as they’d been when it was Cody’s pet, would be unable to escape.  
  
The pony stayed where it was as Max gestured Cody into the stall and followed him in, and despite a shiver when Cody got close, it obediently followed when Max pushed it face-first against the wall.

“I’m really proud of what we did with the feet here,” Max started, in exactly the same tone he’d used to describe his training regimen with the other horses. He kneeled down on the straw and picked up one of the pony’s feet, lifting it so that its leg bent at the knee and Cody could see that the foot was bare, but held in an arched position, so it had to stand on the balls of its feet. “I had my vet go in and shorten the tendon in the ankle, so the feet are held in the proper position. He has proper shoes that we put on him every morning, but the skin needs time to breathe – we had to put all kinds of ointments on him to fix the damage from the way you did it.” Max fixed Cody with a mock-judgmental look and they both laughed.  
  
Continuing on, Max lifted the foot higher, so that its sole was pressed nearly to the pony’s thigh and the pony had to lean forward against the wall to maintain its balance. “And you can see here that I had the nails taken off – there was no need for them, and it saved a lot of maintenance once we got it done.” Cody leaned down to look closer and, sure enough, there were no nails on the toes anymore. He nodded, impressed. Max added, “I had the same thing done with the forelimbs.” He let go of the foot and the pony put it back down to the ground, standing more steadily now.  
  
Max gestured to the arm binder. It was a chestnut color that matched the pony’s hair, but the texture of it was strange. Cody squinted at it – it wasn’t leather, but it didn’t look exactly like fabric, and it surely wasn’t rubber or latex… Max nodded proudly, seeing Cody’s attention. “It’s an experimental fabric one of my men snagged from his Army contacts. It’s strong and tough as leather, but it lets the skin breathe perfectly and lets him flex a little so he won’t get an embolism or anything like that. We haven’t had to take it off in five months, not since his nails got removed. I haven’t seen a problem since then.”  
  
“Nice,” Cody admitted, “You’ve done a really good job with him.”  
  
“Oh, that’s barely half of it,” Max said with a grin. He’d stood up while Cody was examining the arm binder, and now reached down to run his fingers through the pony’s tail. “Take a look at this…”  
  
At first, Cody had assumed that the chestnut-colored tail apparently sprouting from the pony’s lower back was held up by the same sort of contraption he’d used. However, a closer look showed a glint of metal where the tail met skin, and that the wrapping at the base of the tail wasn’t just to keep things neat – the tail flowed out of a tiny cylinder of sorts that was attached to something embedded in the skin. “How did you do that?” Cody wondered aloud.  
  
Max shifted the tail from side to side to show Cody that the metallic glint was from a ring embedded deeply into the lower back, perpendicular to the spine, with the tail hooked onto it in such a way that it appeared to project out just above the pony’s ass and then fountain downward. “The vet had to be careful in setting the ring,” Max explained. “The spine is close right there, and he hardly wanted to snip a nerve! Now the tail can be shifted from side to side, though, and you can easily access the pony without taking the tail off.”  
  
Cody lifted his eyebrows. He liked the idea that the pony could be used without disturbing the look of the tail, but… “He reacted well to being plugged, though. Have you found a good replacement for that?”  
  
Max laughed again. “Of course I still keep him plugged during the day! We don’t want him making a mess, and you’re right that it seems to keep him focused. He’s actually graduated up a few sizes since you’ve seen him.”  
  
Cody nodded in satisfaction, mollified.  
  
Max let go of the tail and patted the pony fondly on the rump. Then he turned the pony around so that Cody could see its front. The pony’s eyes were back to being distant again, though there was a slight strain around them that made Cody smile fondly – it had been nicely broken in, but apparently not completely, just yet.

“I kept the piercings,” Max was saying, gesturing to the little rings hanging from the penis tip and each nipple. “Your jingle bells seemed a little too seasonal, though, so I had them switched out.” Sure enough, a small normal bell now dangled from each ring, explaining the light ringing sounds Cody had heard each time the pony shifted or shivered. “I thought about piercing his nose too, but I decided that it would just get in the way, and he already responds well to the bit.” He gave a respectful nod to Cody. “You trained him very well, there.”  
  
Cody accepted the compliment with a simple thank-you. He was still proud of himself for how his Christmas reindeer had worked out, but he was too curious about what else Max had done to take too much time to preen.  
  
“I thought about gelding him for a while,” Max admitted, fiddling with the web of leather he still had in his hand. “He was a bit wild at first, kept trying to escape, and my vet suggested it might calm him down a bit.” Max shrugged, neither he nor Cody paying attention to the way the pony’s body tensed minutely, making his bells jingle. “It seemed unnecessary with all the other ways to break him in, though, and, well…”  
  
“And seeing him go into rut is too good to miss out on?” Cody supplied, grinning.  
  
Max smiled back, the men exchanging a significant look. “Of course. You know how it is,” he replied.  
  
From there, Max explained a bit about his pony’s daily routine – as with the other horses, a groom took care of many of the pony’s needs, but Max liked to take over sometimes, and he kept a firm handle on what happened on his ranch. “He gets fresh water and food in the morning,” Max was saying. “My vet formulated a good feed mix for him, so he gets all the nutrients and energy he needs, and it looks about right, too.” He indicated one of the two troughs in the stall. In it were what looked like dry pellets, though they were a little rougher-looking than commercially produced ones, and clearly had to be made somewhere on site. Cody was impressed.  
  
Max continued describing his pony’s grooming and exercises, explaining that two of the pens behind the stable had been built specifically for the pony, one a regular horse run but with a fence he couldn’t escape from, and the other with a high fence draped with opaque tarps, for when less-understanding visitors were around. “When visitors are curious and understanding, though, that’s when we bring out the roadster.”  
  
“The what?” Cody prompted.  
  
“Sorry, the buggy,” Max said, smiling. “It seats three, though the third seat is a bit uncomfortable, so I usually have to take friends out one at a time. I’ll show it to you later, I had it repainted last month so it looks very sharp right now.”  
  
They discussed buggy maintenance for a minute, then digressed into the best routes to drive the buggy around the property – the area was flat and fairly monotonous, but there was a little gully not too far away that had a pretty little stream and enough privacy from the ranch that Max liked to use it to put the pony to use every now and then, when he didn’t feel like doing it in the stable. Cody glanced at the pony at this, pleased to see that it didn’t visibly react.

“Do the grooms ever get to use him?” Cody asked, intrigued. He kept an eye on the pony’s face.  
  
“Not often,” Max said with a shrug. “Most of them would prefer a mare, but a few of them see the appeal in it. I make sure they and my visitors use protection, though, I’d hate to have him contract anything.”  
  
The strain from before appeared around the pony’s eyes again, though it was hard to spot and disappeared quickly.  
  
“Do I count as just any visitor, though?” Cody asked, spreading his hands a little.  
  
Max laughed. “Of course not! I got your bill of clean health last week, though I know you could have faked it, you scamp,” both friends laughed again, “and I’m sure you didn’t bother to wrap it up when you had him before. Besides, as his previous owner, I suppose I can give you _some_ perks.” When they’d both stopped chuckling, Max offered, “I can take you around the property tomorrow, and you can take him down to the gully after, if you want.”  
  
“That sounds excellent,” Cody replied.  
  
“Anyway,” Max said, “I just wanted to show you one last thing before we go to dinner.” He took the leather straps in his hands and began fitting them over his pony’s head. The pony tilted its head down obligingly and let the bridle be fitted in place. Once the black leather bridle was secured, Max reached outside the stall and grabbed a metal bit much like the one Cody had used, though significantly thicker and lacking the tongue curb.  
  
Just as Cody was wondering how the bit fit into the pony’s mouth without jacking its mouth wide open all the time, Max held the bit forward and grinned. In an automatic motion, the pony opened its mouth to receive the bit, but Max didn’t insert it yet. “Take a look inside,” Max offered, using the fingers of his free hand to lift the pony’s upper lip on one side and expose the inside of the mouth even more.  
  
Cody peered in curiously, and immediately noticed the alteration Max was showing him. “You removed some of the teeth,” he observed. “To give the bit a place to sit?”  
  
“Exactly.” Max nodded. He lowered the bit so that Cody could see better. “My vet took out the canines and first premolar, top and bottom, on each side, so he has bars like a proper pony. I had to attach the reins to his nipple rings while the mouth healed, but he’s even better with a bit now – his mouth is so soft, he responds like a dream.”  
  
Max lifted the bit again and slipped it into the pony’s mouth. It settled easily into the gap between front and back teeth, and when the pony closed its mouth around it, it was able to do so almost completely, instead of its mouth being forced open as Cody remembered. Once Max had secured the bit onto the bridle, he took hold of the shanks and used it to turn the pony’s head from side to side, demonstrating its responsiveness. Cody gave a hum of approval.

“He’s been good and quiet,” Cody noted. “Is he always that way?” He gave Max a significant look. He didn’t know if Max preferred to keep the pony in the dark about why it couldn’t speak or not, and wasn’t even sure if the silence was due to training or some physical alteration.

“He is.” The nod Max gave Cody in return was cryptic, but Cody took it to mean that something medical had been done, possibly permanent. Or not, because Max added, “I’m hoping to teach him to whinny one day, though. Maybe next year. My vet has been researching techniques for me.”

While Max was taking the bit out and removing the bridle again, Cody spoke up. “You know, I’m really impressed with what you’ve done with him. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”  
  
Max nodded back and gestured him on out of the stall. They closed the door behind them, Cody getting the latch, and they headed out of the stable without a backwards look.  
  
“Come on, then,” Max said. “I forgot to show you the pond, so we can do that and then go in for dinner…”


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Cody woke up at dawn. He glared at his alarm clock, but hauled himself out of bed all the same, promising his tired body that it would be worth it.  
  
He accepted the coffee Max offered downstairs gratefully and chugged it down before they both went out to the stable in the chill morning air. Neither spoke on the way there, choosing instead to enjoy the silence broken only by birdsong as the sun’s glow gradually appeared on the horizon.  
  
Inside the stable, the pony was still asleep, judging by the absence of bells jingling, and it was confirmed when he came into view, curled up in the straw on the floor.  
  
“Good morning, pony,” Max said jovially, loud enough to start the pony into wakefulness. It seemed agitated for a second. It calmed quickly, though, and struggled to its feet with a blank expression.  
  
As it did, Max was already unlatching the stall door and striding in towards the pony. Cody watched with interest as Max patted the pony up and down, impersonally running his hands over its legs and sides to check for anything unusual. Max opened pressed on the pony’s jaws with his thumbs to make it open its mouth, and he peered inside critically, then nodded and let go of it. “Looks fine,” he said for Cody’s benefit, and left the stall again, closing the door, to fetch the wheelbarrow and pitchfork from beside the door. Cody’s offer of help was rejected, and Max mucked out the stall quickly and efficiently by himself.  
  
“Now it’s time for the part you haven’t seen yet,” Max informed Cody with a grin. “Can you grab the box from the next stall?”  
  
Cody nodded and went out to get the aforementioned box, or crate, really. It was full of black and brown leather items, and he gave it a curious glance as he carried it out of the other stall to where Max and the pony now were.  
  
Max had fitted the bridle onto the pony while Cody got the box, attached the reins to the shanks, and then led the pony out of the stall. He was now standing just outside the stall and tying the reins onto a hook next to the stall door. The pony waited with its head bowed down and the reins hanging slack.  
  
Max nodded his thanks to Cody and gestured for him to set the box down, kneeling down to retrieve tall boots from it. Cody recognized the shape of the boots; they would hold the pony’s enforced stance on its toes, just like the ones he’d used the previous Christmas. These, though, were a bit more elaborate-looking, with brown leather making up all but the “hoof,” which was properly black, and they laced up the back.  
  
Max tapped the back of one of the pony’s calves and it lifted the corresponding foot obligingly. He slipped the boot on and tugged the pony’s foot back onto the ground, making sure it was seated properly in the boot before he began tightening the laces with sure, practiced tugs.  
  
“There must be a quicker way,” Cody observed while Max started doing up the second boot the same way.

“Well, we can’t just leave them on all the time,” Max pointed out. “We thought about using the same material as on the forelimbs for boots, but it’s not quite up to the wear and tear. Besides, there’s still the hoof to think about, and there’s no way to make that breathable.” He absently patted the back of the second boot as if to check the laces’ solidity, then stood, grabbing a tangle of leather from the box as he did.  
  
“Give me a couple days to think about it,” Cody offered. “If you could leave them on all the time, you could shoe him properly and everything.” The pony’s shoulders tensed a bit and its bells jingled, but it didn’t react otherwise.  
  
Max was untangling the black leather straps in his hands and obviously thinking about the offer. “Alright,” he said once he had the straps straightened out, “I’d love to hear your ideas, but don’t feel pressured. You’re here as a guest this week!”  
  
With the straps untangled, Cody could see that they made up a kind of harness. He stood back while Max wrapped them around the pony’s lower torso and upper thighs, buckling each strap firmly in place. Once it was done, Cody eyed the contraption with admiration. It looked very secure and well balanced around the obvious attachment points at the hips.  
  
Finally, Max reached into the box for two squares of black leather and clipped the blinders onto the bridle, shuttering the pony’s vision to directly in front of its face. “He doesn’t get distracted too much anymore,” Max explained, “but it’s good to make sure he’s focused on pulling the roadster and nothing else.”  
  
“Speaking of focus…” Max said, and laughed a little. He retrieved the last two items from the box, and Cody grinned in anticipation. The tube of lubricant was some generic brand, but the black plug was remarkable – it was much larger than the one Cody had used, and he was eager to see it in action.  
  
Max reached around and tugged at the reins so that the pony walked forward until its front was flush against the low wall. It stayed there motionless while Max slathered the plug with lube, conscientiously replaced the lube in the box, and put it in position, pointing directly at the pony’s hole.   
  
“Relax, boy,” Max sing-songed, the words sounding routine, as if he said them every day. He probably did, Cody reflected. Cody leaned in a bit to get the best view he could without blocking Max’s light.  
  
Max had the arm of his free hand braced against the pony’s lower back, hand angled down to hold the cheeks apart. The hand with the plug was carefully angled back and forth for a moment, then Max started pushing the plug in. The pony’s hole gave way easily, spreading and swallowing up the large intrusion bit by bit, until the widest part had it stretched wide open. Cody watched intently, shifting his stance a little for comfort, and then the rest of the plug slid in easily, the hole cinching tight around it until all that was left was the wide flat base.  
  
Cody couldn’t help whistling in admiration, and Max slapped the pony’s ass in approval, making the flesh jiggle.

Then Max wiped any excess lube onto his jeans and reached up to untie the reins from their hook. He looped them around so that he was standing behind the pony with the reins in his hands and said, “Let’s get to the roadster, the ranch is gorgeous in the morning.”  
  
He slapped the reins over the pony’s shoulders, then tugged them back twice. The pony backed up obediently until Max slapped the reins over its shoulders again, at which it walked forward, then turned toward the stable’s exit when directed that way with the reins. Max and Cody walked behind it in easy conversation, Cody admittedly paying half his attention to the way the pony’s ass flexed and shifted as it trotted ahead.  
  
The roadster was parked in a shed not far away, and it was the work of a moment to hitch the pony up between the shafts.  
  
The ride around the ranch was pleasant in the dawn’s breaking light. Max took great pleasure in showing Cody the furthest parts of the ranch they hadn’t visited on foot the previous evening. Cody took great pleasure in viewing the ranch, yes, but also in watching the pony run between the shafts as it was directed, whip-scarred ass clenching and bouncing with each stride. Part of him couldn’t wait for the tour to be done so he could take a more private drive with the pony, as promised.  
  
By the time they’d seen most of the property and Max had gotten to show off how well the pony handled, the sun was up above the horizon and Cody was on the verge of crossing his legs for modesty’s sake. Finally, though, they drew to a stop in front of the main house. “Have fun,” Max said as he handed over the reins and climbed out of the buggy. “You know the way to the gully. If you’re not back in time for lunch, I’ll have someone keep it warm for you.” Max clapped Cody on the shoulder and then started for the house.

Cody shifted his grip on the reins, getting used to the feel of them in his hand. He grinned as he was hit with the sense-memory of cold air whipping at his face while he flew through the snow on a sleigh pulled by his pet.  
  
Experimentally, he snapped the reins over the pony’s shoulder, and it obediently began walking forward. With increasing confidence, Cody guided the pony around the yard for a few minutes to get back in practice, then set off on the road toward the gully. The pony responded perfectly to the slightest pressure on the reins, turning exactly as Cody wished. Cody found himself both gratified and oddly disappointed – he almost wished for a mistake so that he could apply the whip sitting in its built-in holder.  
  
Cody’s blood sang in anticipation as he steered the pony between the last few buildings and down the little dirt road, dust rising in tiny puffs with every beat of a hoof. The road wound around a couple of trees, then began sloping gently downward. Soon enough, they started to run parallel to a little creek, the ground rising up slowly on either side of it. A few more minutes had the pony pulling the roadster through a wide gully in the landscape, the slopes on either side rising up past the height of a standing man’s head.  
  
When the road petered out into a broad area of bare dirt, Cody gave the reins a firm tug to bring the pony to a halt. It was a pleasant little spot, he observed, with the creek curving conveniently to the far side of the gully and a few trees lining the banks on either side.  
  
“Good boy,” Cody called, putting the roadster’s brake on and hopping down from his seat, regretting the movement a little when his legs practically creaked, having been stuck in a sitting position for so long. “Good boy,” he repeated, drawing even with the pony and stroking its cheek fondly. “Here you go.” He withdrew his other hand from his jeans pocket, retrieving a sugar cube. He shook a bit of fluff off it and pressed it to the pony’s lips.  
  
The pony opened its mouth obediently to receive the treat and began sucking on it immediately. Cody hummed his approval. He’d checked in with Max earlier, of course, ensuring that Max wouldn’t mind the pony getting a bit of a stimulant now and then – Max had admitted that he didn’t often bother with drugs for the pony, himself, not having much interest in whether the pony got off when it was used or not. Max liked to see the pony go into rut every now and then, but he didn’t think of it as a necessity. Cody, on the other hand, liked to get everything he could from any encounter, so he’d brought along some little treats for the pony, to get it more interested in the proceedings.  
  
While the pony enjoyed its treat, Cody unhitched it from the roadster and led it to stand beneath one of the trees, then wrapped the reins around the trunk and knotted them off. The mid-morning sun was pleasant but not uncomfortably warm yet, and the sound of the creek was soothing, so Cody looked for a good spot on the grass to stretch out on and then settled himself in for a short nap while the drugs took hold.

The loud buzzing of his phone alarm eventually woke Cody from his slumber and he sat up with a jaw-cracking yawn. A sleepy look around showed that everything was just as he’d left it, the roadster shining in the sun and the pony still standing beside the babbling creek.  
  
Cody got himself up with a little effort, then brushed himself off and ambled over to where the pony was tethered. With every step, anticipation replaced sleepiness, so by the time he reached the pony, Cody was practically buzzing with it.  
  
“Hey there,” he cooed, reaching out to pet the pony’s mane. From the way it leaned into the touch, glancing over at him with glazed eyes, Cody knew the laced sugar cube had done its job. “Such a good pony, aren’t you?” Cody murmured, running his fingers through hair that had once been so soft and shiny, now coarsened by months without human conveniences. He’d have to talk to Max about getting some horse shampoo.  
  
The pony submitted to the caresses, closing its eyes in bliss as they continued. Finally Cody pulled his hand away and looked around the gully for a good location. There was a large flat rock lying not too far away, and Cody chuckled as he noticed the grass around it worn thin, no doubt by Max making use of it for the exact same thing Cody planned.  
  
“Come on, boy,” Cody said, clicking his tongue as he untied the reins and began tugging the pony towards the rock. It followed amiably enough, and seemed to know what to expect as he led it over and pushed it down to its knees in front of the rock. With a firm pressure to the center of the back, Cody directed the pony to lean down so its chest was flush with the rock’s surface, leaving it with its ass perfectly exposed. “Good boy.”

Walking to the other side of the rock with reins in hand, Cody chuckled – there was an iron staple driven into the ground there, worn shiny around the top of its loop. Clearly Max had made the alteration for his convenience. Cody saw no sense in wasting his host’s ingenuity, so he reached down and looped the reins through the bent iron bar, knotting them off to hold the pony securely in place over the boulder.  
  
When he circled back around to face the pony’s backside, he found that the drugs were either stronger than he’d thought, or the pony had just been denied release for a good while, because the pony’s hips were already shifting back and forth, ass cheeks clenching around the base of the plug. Cody shook his head, but reached down to fondly stroke the pony’s ass all the same. The pony leaned back into the light touch, barely even flinching when Cody’s fingers ran over the welt of a particularly hard whip strike.  
  
Cody hummed soothingly and pressed the flat of his hand over one of the pony’s ass cheeks, squeezing a bit and enjoying the firm muscle there. The pony exhaled in a whoosh when Cody knelt down and let his other hand join the first, now feeling and groping both sides. Cody pulled the cheeks apart a bit just to see the base of the plug, then pressed them back together tightly, considering for a second just rubbing himself off between them. In the end, though, Cody decided that he’d rather feel the heat from inside and see the pony’s ass clenching around him, so he let go of the pony’s ass with some reluctance and a last two-handed squeeze.  
  
It was the work of a minute for Cody to have his jeans unbuttoned and his boxers pushed down below his balls, freeing his hardening cock to the warming air. The pony stayed obediently in place, prevented from turning to see what was happening by his reins, pulled taut in front of his face.  
  
The pony’s muscles twitched when Cody placed his left hand on the small of its back, below its bound forelimbs, and twitched again when Cody’s free hand gripped at the base of the plug, tugging at it lightly. Cody’s eyes were fixed on the heavy black silicone in his hand, and he watched avidly as subsequent pulls had it beginning to stretch the pony’s asshole wider and wider as it came out. By the time it was to its widest point and the pony’s hole was a thin pink ring surrounding the impressive diameter of the plug, Cody’s cock had thickened significantly, and he was ready to just shove it in the second the plug finally slid free.  
  
Instead of succumbing to his instincts, though, Cody carefully laid the plug in the grass beside him and shuffled closer between the pony’s spread knees. He first examined the pony’s entrance for signs of tearing, then, satisfied, reached for the small bottle of lube he’d tucked away in a pocket. He dripped some lubricant onto the fingers of his right hand and gripped the pony’s hip with his left.

Inserting a finger into the pony’s ass was easy as breathing, and Cody nodded in satisfaction. He indulged himself for a few minutes by playing with the pony’s ass, pumping his finger in and out a few times before dragging it most of the way out and using his fingertip to rub around the inside of the ring. The pony’s rear end perked up into the air at that, and Cody chuckled, rubbing a little harder. He could hear the pony’s pleasured breathy sighs even from where he was.   
  
After a little while, growing bored with that, Cody switched it up again, and probed his finger deeper, searching around until he felt a spongy swelling inside. Finding it, he began running his finger over it lightly. The pony squirmed a little, then inhaled sharply through its nose when Cody began pressing harder, pumping at it with his crooked finger. Cody grinned as the pony’s ass began moving back and forth like it was being fucked, in rhythm with his presses. Cody let go of the pony’s hip with his left hand and moved it up to stroke the pony’s lower back gently.  
  
Between the pony’s legs, Cody could see its dick hardening and lengthening. When its balls began to visibly draw up, though, Cody stopped his stroking and withdrew his finger from its ass. The pony tensed up as if trying to keep his finger inside, and it pulled against its reins as if attempting to look back. Its view of anything other than the gulley wall was blocked by the blinders, though, and the discomfort to its mouth was apparently harsh enough that it soon gave up and lay limp and quivering on the stone.  
  
Cody made some soothing hushing noises and stroked the pony’s ass with his dry hand for a moment. “Don’t worry, boy, you’re about to get something better,” he assured it. He squirted a good amount of lubricant into his palm and let it sit for a moment to warm up, then slathered it onto his cock, stroking it a few times to bring it to full hardness.   
  
With his right palm wiped clean of lube on the grass, Cody brought both hands up to grip the pony’s hips and inched himself forward, angling his bobbing cock so that the head was brushing the pony’s winking asshole. “Be a good pony now,” Cody murmured, and slid inside.  
  
“Oh, good boy,” Cody moaned, feeling his cock squeezed and encased in heat. The pony had gone ramrod stiff at the first intrusion, but as Cody stayed still, its muscles relaxed a little and it huffed out a breath.

Cody hummed and gradually pulled his cock most of the way out, then eased it back in. The pony did its best to push back on his cock, and Cody let it. He repeated the slow motions a few more times, then began to quicken them, working up to a fast-paced rhythm that had his balls slapping up against the curve of the pony’s ass. The pony’s hips were twitching in the same rhythm, and Cody was sure that if it still had use of its voice, it would be moaning. The blinders blocked Cody’s view of its eyes, but he could see its mouth hanging open around the bit, pants of air escaping as each was punched out of it by Cody’s cock.  
  
“Yeah, that’s it,” Cody grunted mindlessly, increasing his hips’ speed. Soon he had the pony practically spasming on his cock, unable to keep up with Cody’s thrusts. Cody gripped its hips even tighter, grinning as he saw the skin around his fingers turning white with the strain – he was pretty sure he’d be leaving handprints over the whip marks for at least a few days.  
  
The wet hot friction on Cody’s cock was intense, and Cody could feel himself winding tighter and tighter all too quickly. He moved his hands from the pony’s hips to its lower back, pressing down hard and holding it in place as his hips pistoned in and out of it. Cody gritted his teeth as he felt his orgasm coming on, and he managed to force out an impatient, “Come on, boy…”  
  
Thankfully, Cody didn’t have to do much else, and the pony suddenly tightened around him almost to the point of pain. That, and the strangled almost-sound that escaped the pony’s throat told Cody that the pony had come, and Cody took advantage of the muscles spasming around his cock to thrust wildly for a few moments until they coaxed him over the edge and into coming, himself.  
  
While Cody’s vision returned from its whiteout, Cody let himself hang over the pony’s back and just pant for breath. Eventually, though, the feel of his cock being squeezed became more uncomfortable than comforting, and Cody pulled back and out. He smiled with dopey pride on seeing his cock slip out, followed by a dribble of come, and sat back on his heels. A glance at his watch showed him that he still had twenty minutes before lunch, so Cody flopped down on his side and set his alarm for ten minutes. He figured he’d earned a nap, so he closed his eyes and drifted off to the sounds of the pony shifting awkwardly against the stone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is a graphic branding in this scene!

Cody hadn’t planned on staying more than a week, but it was a good week. He spent the rest of it chatting with Max and occasionally going out on a ride or drive, and made sure to get his fill of using the pony in, too. On the morning before he left, Max spoke up at the breakfast table, sounding more formal than usual. “It’s been great having you here, Cody.”  
  
“Thanks,” Cody said easily, it’s been great to be here.”  
  
Max nodded and hummed for a moment, as if unsure of how to start. “You’ve been enjoying the pony, right?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Have you thought at all about – well, were you planning on buying him back?”  
  
Cody felt his eyebrows rise. “I hadn’t even thought about it, Max. He’s yours now. Are you already getting tired of him?”  
  
“No, of course not,” Max scoffed. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t still want to put a claim on him.”  
  
Cody shook his head. “Look, Max, I sold him to you fair and square. Besides, you’re enjoying him so much I’d hate to take him away from you. And where would I stash a pony in the city?”  
  
Max grinned, conceding the point. “Good, I think I needed to hear that. I wanted to make sure, though. You seemed so sad to part with him that I wanted to give you a chance to buy him back before I made any big modifications.”  
  
Cody chuckled, “You call those changes you made ‘small’ ones?”  
  
“Well, maybe not,” Max allowed. “But I’ve been wanting to give him my brand, and it seemed wrong to do it if there was a chance you’d want him back.”  
  
“Nah, you go ahead with that,” Cody said magnanimously. “He’s yours.”  
  
“Good, good,” Max said. “In that case, I’d like to do it soon, I’ve been itching to get it done for a while. That space on his flank looks awfully bare, you know?”  
  
They both chuckled. “Why not get it done today?” Cody asked. “I wouldn’t mind seeing him with it before I leave.”  
  
Max smiled and wiped his mouth with his napkin, then tossed it onto the table. “I was hoping you’d say that. Come find me in the stable when you’re done, I’ll get one of the grooms to help set it up outside.”  
Cody nodded and worked on finishing off his eggs as Max stood up and left, a purposeful spring in his walk.  
  
When Cody arrived at the stable, one of the grooms was indeed outside, stoking a fire in the firepit. It appeared that someone had also brought out an old, sturdy table and taken the extra step of tying the legs to stakes pounded into the ground. Cody nodded to the groom and headed inside, where Max was just finishing tacking up the pony, clipping its reins on. The pony seemed to know something was going on. It was wide-eyed and jittery, staying tense even when Max stroked a hand down its side soothingly.

“How’s it going?” Cody asked.  
  
“Oh, it’s fine,” Max said. It seemed like he couldn’t stop the little smile playing around his lips ever since Cody had given his go-ahead for the branding. “Just finished getting him ready. Are you ready for a big day, boy?” He crooned the question to the pony. The pony’s jaw tensed as its teeth clenched around the bit and it hesitated, then stomped a hoof twice.  
  
Max raised an eyebrow, but after a tense second, he just laughed and shook his head, patting the pony fondly on the rump. Cody laughed too. It seemed the pony did still have some spirit.  
  
“Are you ready out there?” Max hollered towards the door, and after a responding “No, sorry, boss!” he shrugged and looped the pony’s reins more firmly around his hand before ignoring it for the time being. The pony stood stock-still while Max and Cody passed the time by idly debating whether one of Max’s horses was more of a sorrel or a chestnut.  
  
Max had just jerked the reins a little by means of demonstration and was saying “Now, the pony here is a definite chestnut…” when the groom called in from outside, saying everything was ready.  
  
Max grinned like a kid in a candy store and Cody had to stifle a smile. His friend may have been a distinguished older gentleman, but sometimes he made that hard to remember. “Come on, then,” Max said, and started walking out, pulling the pony behind him. The pony had to hurry to keep slack in the reins, since every time they pulled taut, the curb was undoubtedly pressing down on the back of his tongue.  
  
Once they were outside, the fire was blazing even brighter than before. There was a long black handle sticking out of the fire, and Cody eyed it with interest, even as the pony obviously realized what was about to happen and started tugging back on the reins, eyes wide and panicked.  
  
“Oh, stop being silly,” Max chided, switching to a two-handed grip so he could give the reins a hearty tug forward. Judging by its face, the pony surely would have whined in distress if it still had use of its voice, and it was only able to resist for half a minute before it had to give in to the pain in its soft mouth and go where it was pulled.  
  
Between Cody and Max – they waved off the groom’s help, since they had it easily under control – it took little time to get the pony bent over the table, its reins tied off to one of the front table legs and its ankles secured to either of the back legs. An additional length of rope went tightly around its lower back, keeping it from wiggling.  
  
Max took his time to soak a rag in rubbing alcohol and to carefully clean the pony’s left flank, blowing on it to speed the drying process.

“You’ll need to lean on it some,” the groom warned them as he pulled the long pole out of the fire, revealing a design on the end that Cody couldn’t make out. “Or do you want to do the honors?” he asked Max deferentially.  
  
“No, I know you can do a cleaner job of it than I could,” Max said, laughing. He and Cody went to the opposite side of the table as the groom approached with the branding iron. They arranged themselves so that Cody was leaning on the pony’s back and Max was gripping its lower back and thighs, holding it completely immobile.  
  
Quiet broken whining noises were making their way out of the pony’s damaged throat, but despite its muscles tensing and it clearly trying to shake Max and Cody off, it could do nothing but stay still as the groom arrived at its side and sized up the location.  
  
“Hold it still now, we don’t want this smudged,” the groom advised, and then applied the branding iron.  
  
Cody found that he and Max needed to lean on the pony even harder to keep it from wriggling in their grip, and a sound almost like a shriek escaped the pony as the smell of burning skin pervaded the air. A puddle also formed on the ground below the pony as it apparently lost control of its bladder, and Cody grimaced a little at the combined smells.  
  
Still, as soon as the branding iron was removed, Max was up and moving around to the pony’s left side, staring in awe at the new brand. Cody joined him and nodded in approval. “It looks great,” Cody complimented. “Nice work!”  
  
The groom accepted his praise with modesty and set about cleaning up.

  
The pony was managing to writhe in its bonds, rubbing its lower back raw as it twisted under the ropes. Its mouth was still open in a silent scream, and there were shocked tears streaming down its face.

“That looks amazing,” Max breathed, his face alight with pleasure.  
  
Cody nodded. It was a very clear mark, currently bright red and practically still smoking, but its edges were clearly defined and there was no smudging at all. “What do you call that?” he asked Max. Horse markings weren’t exactly Cody’s forte anymore, though he’d learned about them years ago when he’d had to impersonate an enthusiast for a con. This mark was very pretty, he supposed, with a capital M sitting over a little v, almost like an angular heart symbol.  
  
“It’s a M Half Diamond,” Max explained absently, still looking it over in rapture. “All my stock has it, of course.”  
  
“M for Max?” Cody teased.  
  
“No,” Max said, finally looking away from the brand to grin a little sheepishly at Cody. “M for Maria, my mother’s name.”  
  
“That is sweet,” Cody allowed.  
  
“Thanks.” Max gave the brand a last proud look before turning away and starting for the house while the groom worked to put out the fire. “Come on, let’s go in for a bit, you can tell me about your idea for that bank manager job, and I can critique it for you. We should leave the pony to wear himself out for a bit before we untie him.”  
  
While Cody half-jokingly protested that there was no need for Max to critique his planned cons these days, they walked away from the pony and the stable, neither being impolite enough to mention the swelling in the other’s trousers.


End file.
